In Manakamana, Nepal, Manakamana Temple honours Manakamana, a wish fulfilling form of Bhagwati (Parvati). It is also known as Manakamana Devi Mandir, Manakamana Bhagwati Mandir.
Manakamana is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Nepal, drawing Hindu and Buddhist devotees who believe the goddess grants (mana = heart, kamana = wish) the wishes of sincere devotees. Its popularity has been amplified by the cable car, which turned a multi hour trek into an eight to ten minute ride and made the temple a major day trip destination between Kathmandu and Pokhara. Nepali folklore traces the temple to the 17th century reign of the Gorkha kings, and connects the goddess to a queen of Gorkha believed to possess divine power, who died following the tradition of sati.
Nepal carries a distinct temple identity of its own: Home to Pashupatinath, one of the holiest Shiva temples in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Darshan hours and daily worship
Published sources do not give a single clean daily window for this temple; see the notes below for what is documented.
The cable car, the main way pilgrims reach the temple, runs roughly 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily with a midday break around 12:00 to 1:30 PM, though sources give slightly different start times (8 AM or 9 AM). Verified opening and closing times for the temple sanctum itself (as distinct from the cable car) were not found.
Poojas and daily rituals
Offerings of flowers, vermilion (sindoor), cloth and sweets are made to the goddess. Animal sacrifice, mainly goats, is a longstanding practice at the temple and intensifies during major festivals; Gorkha authorities have restricted sacrifice of some birds in recent years.
Festivals and special-day timings
Regular darshan hours are usually extended, or set aside entirely, on these dates.
| Festival | Period | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Dashain | September or October | One of the busiest periods at the temple, with very long queues for darshan. |
| Kartik Panchami | October or November | A major festival period drawing large numbers of pilgrims. |
| Baisakh Panchami | April or May | An important annual worship occasion at the temple. |
History and architecture
Architecture
Traditional Nepalese pagoda style temple with a two tiered copper roof and carved wooden struts
History
Nepali folklore traces the temple to the 17th century reign of the Gorkha kings, and connects the goddess to a queen of Gorkha believed to possess divine power, who died following the tradition of sati. A local farmer is said to have found a stone from which milk and blood flowed, until a man named Lakhan Thapa began worshipping it as Manakamana. Gorkha king Prithvi Narayan Shah is said to have worshipped here before his campaign to unify Nepal, and stone inscriptions and offerings at the site date from 1771 and 1802. The temple became far more accessible after Nepal's first commercial cable car, linking Kurintar in Chitwan to the hilltop temple, opened on 24 November 1998.
Planning your visit
How to reach
By cable car from Kurintar, on the Prithvi Highway between Kathmandu (about 105 km away) and Pokhara, a ride of roughly 8 to 10 minutes; alternatively by a trek of about 3 to 4 hours on foot from the base.
Where this information comes from
Confidence: Medium. Cable car operating hours vary slightly between sources (8 AM or 9 AM start, differing lunch break times), and exact temple darshan hours distinct from cable car hours could not be independently verified